For ordinary people serving an extraordinary God

#5minutes4freedom: Be there

He tries on the brand-new bright-white Grade 0 takkies with his brand-new even brighter-whiter socks because there’s still time for me to return them if his feet have stretched out long in long holiday weeks.

Only thirteen more beginnings.

Thirteen more Januaries. Thirteen more sets of stationery and thrift-shop-bargain uniforms and first-days of new grades. That’s a baker’s dozen and time will scoff the years hot and fresh and we’ll wonder what happened to them and we should’ve taken time to smear them thick with butter and savour them. Slowly.

I hear the still small voice –

Be there.

Be there to smear thick with memories. Be there and be fun. Be there and let him hear the smile in my voice not the sigh – this child of mine who hears things behind words and can spot a fake with 20/20 vision in his world of blurs. Be there and let the Lego lie and let the Prestik tug at the paint because his scribbles are wild imaginings that shape his world and he is art. Be there and let his little brother line up cars in vast lots beneath his bed. Hit save and leave the laptop and be there to roll out dozens of identical green playdough snakes because these are the moments that add up to a childhood under this roof so that when he is free to go he will be all filled out and filled up. Made brave and beloved.

…

What does being there look like for you this year? Please leave a comment. Sign up in the sidebar to get these posts by email (scroll down if you’re on the mobile site), or follow #5minutes4freedom on facebook or twitter. If you’re new to GYI, I’d love to meet you. Click here to read what’s up with this blog, or hereto contact me.

Being there will mean putting oughts aside while my precious daughter and newgrandson visit for three weeks from the UK
Being there when my ageing mother and mother in law are with me — putting aside my rushing to do the next thing
Being there means putting my smartphone in my bag and not looking at it when I am spending time with people
Ingrid so much compassion goes out to you and may God bring complete healing – these things seem so desperately unfair